Major Vic 'Deak' Deakins (John Travolta) and Captain Riley Hale (Christian Slater) of the US Air Force are assigned to test fly the brand-new B3 Stealth Bomber with two live nuclear weapons. Deak has been passed over for so many promotions within the Air Force, that he no longer feels loyal to them. During the test flight, he intentionally crashes the B3 and steals the nuclear weapons, but he makes the US Air Force believe that it is Riley that has stolen the nukes. This leaves Riley and Terry Carmichael (Samantha Mathis), a Park Ranger for the desert that they crashed in, as the only ones that can stop him. If the US Government doesn’t give into Deak’s demands, a southwest city will cease to exist.